Getting to Know You
by nathalex01
Summary: Tina was always the shy girl at school; the girl nobody noticed. This all changes when Finn Hudson, amazed at her artwork, starts getting to know her. Can she get the high school hottie in her arms, when he's already got his own relationship dramas going?
1. A Drawing of My Dreams

**- ONE -**

Tina Cohen-Chang sat rather uncomfortably in the eastern grandstand of the William McKinley High Auditorium. She sighed deeply, staring at the book laid open upon her lap. Tina was an artist at heart. If there was one thing she truly loved in this world, it was her art. She could – and certainly had, at times – spent hours illustrating aspects of her life in these tiny books of hers. Art was her escape; her freedom from the world around her. She was never the most confident girl out there. Mostly, she would keep to herself, letting out her pain and spreading it onto the pages in front of her. Sentimentally, Tina smiled. This was the fifth art book she'd gone through this year; quite an accomplishment, really, given that it was only early in the month of April. Tina relaxed back in her incommodious seating, breathing in deeply. Normally, Tina could be inspired by anything to start drawing. Tina could see the greatness behind everything the world had to offer.

* * *

><p><em>Funny,<em> she thought to herself_,_ _that nobody sees the same in me._

* * *

><p>Her sight met the court in front of her. A bunch of guys from the football team, including Finn, Puck and Sam, were taking the time out for a quick game of basketball. Tina barely managed to see Finn swiftly knock the ball from Azimio's hand and ran it down the full length of the court. He finished it off with a stunning maneuver as the ball rebounded from the backboard and into the hoop. Finn shouted something unintelligible as he raced back down the court, high-fiving Puck as he did so. Tina's eyes flickered between Finn and the blank page set out neatly in front of her. She thought deeply for a moment, strumming her fingers on her knee. Tina grabbed her pencil and started drawing, periodically moving her eyes to Finn as she did so.<p>

* * *

><p>"Good game," Finn said cheerily, shaking the hand of a football player whose name eluded Tina. Tina took one more look at Finn before immersing herself in her sketching. As far as she was concerned, the world around her stopped dead when she was drawing. After an immeasurable amount of time, Tina made it back to reality out of shock.<p>

"Hey, Tina," Finn called, walking up to her. Tina looked around, surprised. All of the other guys had already left the gymnasium. Only Finn and herself remained.

"What are you up to?" he asked casually, sitting down beside her. Finn was sweating and breathing heavily; understandable, given how well she'd seen him play earlier.

"Just drawing," she replied calmly, keeping her eyes set on the page.

"Drawing me, by any chance?" Finn asked, nudging her in the shoulder. Tina blushed.

"No, no, no," she said quickly, shutting her book.

"You sure? You were looking at me a fair bit during the game," he commented. Tina simply smiled, having no idea what to say next.

"Can I see it?" Finn asked calmly, looking into Tina's eyes.

"Okay," Tina replied at length. She and Finn hadn't interacted very much over this past year, so this was all new to Tina. It wasn't often that anyone expressed even the most remote interest in her work. Slowly, she opened the book, flicking through the pages to get to her most recent drawing.

"Wow," Finn commented, "Those are pretty good."

"Thanks," Tina managed, still blushing slightly. After a short while, she reached the page with the almost-completed drawing of Finn. The picture showed him ready to leap for the hoop, with the basketball in one hand and an expression of pure determination on his face.

"You drew this just then?" Finn asked, amazed. She nodded.

"Wow," he said again, shaking his head in astonishment.

"You – you like it?"

"Love it, more like. You've got a gift, Tina," he said, smiling. Tina returned the smile, and then gently closed her book.

"You draw often?"

"All the time."

"Nice," Finn said casually.

"Well, I've got to run, Tina. I'll catch you later." He patted her on the back as he rose from the seat.

"Great picture, by the way!" he shouted as he headed for the exit.

"Thanks again!" she shouted in reply, still in shock. She smiled as she watched Finn exit the gymnasium. She quickly flicked back through her work, noticing that she never really did acknowledge her gift as being "_Wow"_, to quote Finn. Tina looked at the clock above the basketball hoop, noticing that it was nearly 4 o'clock now. Her mum would be there to pick her up any minute.

* * *

><p>She fumbled through her school bag, ensuring she was all good to go. As she swung her bag onto her back, she inadvertently knocked her art book off the seat, sending it flying onto the court.<p>

"Don't worry, I got it!" called a chirpy familiar voice. Mercedes hurried onto the court, reaching down for the book.

"I've been here for a good ten minutes, you know. You really do keep focused when you want to," she commented, tossing Tina the book, which she Tina dropped again in a desperate attempt to catch it.

"Your mum's here, by the way," added Mercedes, gesturing out of one of the many windows in the gymnasium. Sure enough, there was her car, parked not too far away.

"So, how was Finn?" intoned Mercedes, winking at Tina as they exited the gym.

"Wh – what do you mean?" she stuttered, starting to blush yet again.

"Girl, you know what I mean."

"He was all right, I suppose."

"You like him, don't you?" Mercedes asked, obviously more enthusiastic than Tina was about this conversation.

"Finn? No, no. He's into Rachel. Well, maybe Quinn now. It changes a lot."

"But _you_ like him, don't you?" Mercedes repeated, blatantly ignoring her. Not long afterwards, the two reached Tina's mother's car and got in. The two greeted her mother, and off they went. The conversation continued on like this for what seemed like ages to Tina. Finally, Mercedes drove her over the edge.

"Fine! Yes, he's cute," Tina said quickly, avoiding Mercedes gaze. Mercedes screamed in excitement, bearing a grin larger that any that Tina had ever seen before.

"Not that it matters," Tina commented, "Like I said, he's into Rachel."

"You never know," replied Mercedes. Tina scoffed.

"I'm serious. Just, you keep at it, girl. Those pictures of yours? _Totally_ good pickup lines." The slightest of smiles appeared on Tina's face.

"Still, Mercedes, I know it'll never happen," Tina began, "even in the zero chance he likes me, Quinn wouldn't have a bar of it."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Hope you all liked it so far. I'm hoping to make this a rather lengthy fic, and explore/feature several relationships leading up to the climactic moment of Senior Prom. Naturally, Fina will be pretty major, given the nature of this story. Expect to see more "unexpected" parings, much like Fina, in future chapters.**_

_**Thank you for taking the time to read this.  
><strong>_


	2. Plans for Prom

**- TWO -**

"Tina!" Mercedes screeched from outside the house, staring at her watch. They were going to be late again, she was sure of it. Tina was at a loss whenever it came to time. Sure, she was a smart girl, but she simply couldn't seem to keep on top of everything. She rushed outside the house, nearly tripping over the doorstep as she greeted her friend.

"Third time this week, Tina..." sighed Mercedes.

"I know, I know," Tina said quickly, staring up at the sky.

"We were going to walk today, remember? We probably aren't going to make it now," Mercedes commented. Tina winced, recalling the promise she made.

"We can still make it," Tina said reassuringly.

"If we hurry now, then sure." Mercedes hurried off, grabbing Tina's arm. For several minutes, the two said nothing to each other. They merely eyed their watches wearily, mentally checking that they hadn't forgotten anything important. Finally, though, Mercedes broke the tension.

"So what are your plans for prom?"

"Don't have any. I'm not going," came Tina's swift response. Mercedes groaned.

"Why not?"

"Who willingly goes to prom alone?"

"You don't _have_ to go alone, you know."

"Sure, if there's a guy who actually wants to be seen near you," Tina added. Mercedes looked ready to comment, but Tina quickly cut her off.

"It's a month away. It's too early to think about it now."

"Quinn would certainly disagree. She picked out her dress nearly three years ago," said Mercedes.

"Yeah, well that's Quinn. She basically structured her senior year at the age of six."

"Oh, being a little catty, are we, girl?" asked Mercedes suggestively.

"No, I'm not," Tina said quickly, hoping Mercedes wouldn't bring up Finn again.

"What about you, Mercedes?"

"Oh, I'm going. I just need a guy."

"Same problem, hey?" asked Tina.

"I wouldn't say _problem_. I've got a simple outlook. If Lauren can snag Puck, I can get a guy within a month."

"Overconfidence, Mercedes..."

"Yeah, well, I've gotta stay positive. There's no use in stressing out." Tina smiled slightly.

"Actually, Tina, you can help me out here," said Mercedes, thinking deeply. Tina's eyebrows rose.

"How?"  
>"Help me list some single guys. I need a list to see who can handle this," Mercedes said, gesturing to herself.<p>

"Well, there's Sam, Mike, Karofsky..."

"Karofsky? I'd rather date a pencil sharpener." Tina couldn't help but to laugh.

"There's also Finn, I suppose," said Tina, earning herself a nudge from Mercedes.

"I don't think he's asked anybody yet, Tina. If you catch my drift," added Mercedes, winking.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Finn!" called Rachel, smiling as she hurried towards him. He quickly closed his locker, and turned to face her.<p>

"Hey, Rach, what's up?"

"Nothing," she said, "I just wanted to chat."

"Sure," said Finn, nodding.

"How are things going with you and Quinn?" Rachel tried to play it pretty casually, but couldn't help blurting out the reference to Quinn.

"You know, I have absolutely no idea," Finn confessed.

"Why's that?"

"She used to be so much calmer, you know? It was like, I felt something between us."

"And you don't any more?" asked Rachel, a little too cheerily.

"Well, _I_ do," Finn began, "I just don't know about her." Rachel swallowed, trying not to look so crushed by that.

"Enough about Quinn," said Finn.

"How are things with you?" Rachel shrugged.

"I'm all right."

"Seeing anybody?" Finn asked. Rachel's eyebrows rose.

"I see you right now."

"You know what I mean, Rach."

"No," she said dispassionately, "I'm flying solo for now." Finn began to speak again, but was quickly interrupted.

"Hey, guys," said Quinn, stepping between the two of them.

"What are you doing?" she asked, clearly directing the query at Rachel.

"Just talking, Quinn," replied Rachel, sarcastically.

"Well, that's good. I was just hoping you weren't, you know, stealing my guy _again._" Quinn took Finn's hand, turning to him to offer a quick smile.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Quinn," said Rachel, visibly hurt at the sight of them together. Quinn suppressed her anger, and turned to Finn.

"Plans this weekend?" she asked, smiling flirtatiously. Finn couldn't help but to return the smile, shaking his head.

"Good!" Quinn said, in a much cheerier mood now, "I'll see you later." Quinn took off, leaving Finn and Rachel alone together yet again. Finn stared at her as she walked away.

"Checking her out, I see," Rachel commented.

"Well, we _are_ dating," Finn added, desperately hoping that came out nicer than it did in his head. Rachel faked a smile, and then quickly spun around. Despite her best efforts, a tear still began to form in the corner of her eye. Again, she'd lost Finn to that pretty blonde. The one with the perfect body and the stunning smile.

* * *

><p>"Rachel!" Finn called out, ignoring the gazes of the countless people now staring at him in the hallway. But it was too late, he knew. There was something about Rachel. She always seemed so fragile and vulnerable; like she needed to be protected from the world. There was something about her that Finn couldn't quite put his finger on; something that made her so alluring, so irresistible. Finn shook his head, furious with himself. He swung himself around him in anger, nearly knocking over a girl behind him as he did so. Her books were scattered all over the floor, and the girl herself was on the verge of falling over. Quickly, Finn grabbed her wrist, keeping her upright. Several students around the hallway had stopped to have a little laugh.<p>

* * *

><p>"I am so sorry," Finn said, as sincerely as he could. The girl turned towards him, reaching for her books as she did so. It was Tina.<p>

"It's all right," she said nervously. She reached for another book, but by that time, Finn had already picked up several of them and handed them to her.

"Nice one, Hudson! Taking out the Asian chick!" Azimio cackled, nudging another member of the football team in the shoulder.

"Hey, back off!" roared Finn, almost instinctively. Tina looked clearly hurt, but looked down, distracting herself in an attempt to stack her books more neatly.

"Excuse me?" yelled Mercedes, shoving her way through the crowd.

"You talk to my girl Tina like that again, and I will break your legs." Azimio looked ready to say something to Mercedes, but was quickly stopped.

* * *

><p>"Back away, people! The <em>Bullywhips<em> are in the house," shouted Santana, seemingly not noticing the several people she knocked over on the way through the crowd. Karofsky stood at her side, saying nothing. Santana turned towards the crowd.

"You can go away, now," she said calmly, smiling. The disgruntled groaned moved away slowly, making unintelligible comments as they did so.

"Thank you, Finn," said Tina, trying in vain to smile.

"Don't mention it," he said, pulling her up off the ground. He quickly turned toward Azimio, who, alongside two other football players, had already entered a screaming match with Santana, Karofsky and Mercedes. Finn snarled.

"I'll see you later, Tina," he said, keeping his eyes affixed on Azimio.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Like I usually do in my fics, I'll provide a little "promo" of the next chapter. There will be a lengthy confrontation between Mercedes, Santana, Karofsky, Azimio and the two footballers (Strando, a footballer introduced in "The Sue Sylvester Bowl Shuffle" and Scott Cooper, who plays football instead of hockey in this particular _Glee_verse) , as well as another separate scene, involving Tina._**

****Thanks for all the positive reviews, guys. I really appreciate it.


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